Read Cobalt Blueby Peggy Payne Online

Burned out from work and a recent breakup, Andie Branson, a 38-year-old commercial artist in a conservative town in the American South, has a shocking and unexpected religious experience, kundalini rising, the physical manifestation of tantric enlightenment. Andie's struggle to regain control of her mind and body is complicated by a too close connection with her glamorousBurned out from work and a recent breakup, Andie Branson, a 38-year-old commercial artist in a conservative town in the American South, has a shocking and unexpected religious experience, kundalini rising, the physical manifestation of tantric enlightenment. Andie's struggle to regain control of her mind and body is complicated by a too close connection with her glamorous world-wandering parents, especially her magnetically attractive father, and by an assignment working closely with a bigoted U.S. senator, the man who, for her, personifies evil. Her story ranges from the elegant little golf town of Pinehurst, North Carolina, to the raucous and shadowy byways of pre-Katrina New Orleans, with pauses in India, Ecuador, and other exotic locations. Andie finds her redemption finally through ecstatic religious ritual, the mysterious healing properties of water, and by claiming and steering the power that has erupted within her....

Title

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Cobalt Blue

Author

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Peggy Payne

Rating

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ISBN

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9781780998084

Format Type

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Paperback

Number of Pages

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312 Pages

Status

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Available For Download

Last checked

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21 Minutes ago!

Cobalt Blue Reviews

S. Div.2019-05-23 08:31

Relevant, shadow sexy, and spiritually well-endowed: "Cobalt Blue" is the color of enlightenment. In "Cobalt Blue," Peggy Payne does a wonderful job describing the modern path of spiritual emergence. Keeping the tension relatable yet provocative, this book gives an apt glance into the elusive and tangled experience of the soul suddenly demanding more. What seems like a mental break or an an emotional dam becomes a flood of messy, indecent passion--that which we all carry, but without boundaries can so easily carry us. Even amidst Andie Branson not understanding the life force happening to her or through her, the story grounds into coherent detail, the stark reality of what spiritual crisis looks and feels like. For Andie, it feels like sexual chaos.Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. In that light, truth is more comfortable to try on in fiction. This novel gives readers insight into the everyday face of the sacred, the reality of modern spiritual initiation, and delivers a powerfully erotic story.

Elaine2019-05-22 06:37

A book about rapture in all its meanings. A master story-teller, Peggy Payne surprises with a journey of artistic/spiritual/physical ecstasies explored through one woman's journey of self-discovery. Perhaps most admirable in this novel is the writer's willingness to see how far the body will take us into the religious realm. Quite a ways, it turns out.

Lavinia Sullivan2019-05-05 08:34

What a terrible waste of time this was. The main character was, at best, two dimensional. The story line, or lack thereof, meandered through various settings and petered out with no real ending. It was obvious what the writer wanted to achieve, but any real plot got obliterated by a propensity to use overly descriptive language.

Jessie2019-05-11 06:42

This book was a gift from a friend. It was a neat story, but it needs to be edited down for errors and pointless drivel that derails from the plot.

W.S.2019-05-13 05:21

Spiritual awakenings are not typically on our cluttered “must-do” lists as we pursue our frenetic daily chores, juggling time for family, boss, and needy Aunt Sally while trying to ignore the beeps and tweets from our smartphones. Some of us have carved out personal time in our week for stress relief: workouts, hot baths, perhaps even some meditation. We might consider ourselves “enlightened,” certainly fortunate, for having made some healthy choices about how we manage our time. However, not many in this materialistic era give much thought or serious effort to pursuit of enlightenment or self-actualization or spiritual awareness. These are lofty, noble, but vaguely understood states of being, accessible only after suitably dramatic crises and trials in the life of the pretty heroine or hunky male lead in some dreamy fable or foreign movie set in an exotic, far-away land like Zanzibar or Seattle. The Hindu goddess Shakti ain’t going to drop in on the rest of us out of the blue—no way! Besides, the Age of Aquarius is so, like, over.Andie Branson, the approaching-middle-age and not-even-remotely satisfied artist who is the focus of Peggy Payne’s new novel, Cobalt Blue,, believes herself to be about as far from a spiritual opening or transformative experience as a gal can get when the story begins. Floundering creatively, unhappily stuck providing hackneyed commissions for wealthy clients and corporate image managers, Andie is also a mess emotionally, having recently ended a long relationship with her frustrating partner Charlie. The once-vibrant artist lacks inspiration and feels as “empty as an old can of house paint,” stuck living life vicariously through a group of friends, mostly fellow artists, who share studio space in the same building. The action begins with Andie at another client appointment trying to land a sports mural commission that she needs but esthetically deplores. Her serious painting has been as neglected as her emotional development for years. Andie gets no definite answer from the selection committee and returns home feeling depressed and convinced that her life lacks any meaningful direction or purpose. She falls asleep and awakens after only a few hours to find her bedroom awash in dazzling moonlight. Andie is not merely enthralled by the beauty of the lambent light but infused with an unaccustomed sense of well-being, energy, and happiness. Suddenly, a coil of shimmering blue light spirals before her at the foot of her bed, then disappears. Her naked body tingles everywhere, and she is seized by erotic urges and prickling, powerful energy that thrums within, through, and around her. She finally dozes off again but awakens filled with long-dormant creative drive and zeal. She rushes to her studio to start work on a new, serious canvas for the first time in years. Thus begins Andie’s first encounter with the spontaneous rising of what many religions call the sacred energy, what others term chi, others identify with the goddess Shakti or the serpent kundalini.Spontaneous visitations from the spiritual realm should come as no surprise to readers familiar with the author’s other novels. God speaks directly to and disrupts the smug, comfortable life of a small-town Presbyterian minister who is the focus of her earlier work, Revelation. In Cobalt Blue, the author explores decidedly bolder, racier facets of ecstatic visitation. This time the divine tongue of the spirit springs forth from a tantric serpent and licks, penetrates, and lusts after every orifice of Andie’s overheated body, along with more than one of the male characters in the story. Memo to prissy readers: sex sells, and Ms. Payne pull no punches in laying it all out for you.But, yes, there is more to Cobalt Blue than a “five stiffies/damp panties” raunchy fiction rating. The first flash of Andie’s spiritual/sexual possession subsides for a scene or two. At the follow-up meeting where the artist hopes to nail down her next meal ticket, she is taken aside by an old acquaintance and offered another commission altogether, a huge sum for a portrait of a powerful U.S. senator whom she has always thought morally reprehensible: a Faustian bargain with the devil incarnate.The ethical/financial dilemma posed by this tempting yet offensive opportunity is another unwelcome shock. Andie heads to the Carolina shore to avoid making an immediate decision on the senator’s portrait. There she is again seized with surging sexual urges and cravings and spends a delirious weekend as a $1,000 per night sex toy on a nearby luxury yacht. Subsequent lust-fests and several that she is barely able to avoid giving in to leave Andie miserable, at increasing risk for serious physical harm, and desperate for help and self-control. And she’s not getting any artistic boost from the bangings; the jolt of creative energy that she’d experienced that first morning when she’d rushed to paint has not been sustained. What starts as Andie’s search for any means to free herself from her ecstatic bondage develops into a much more interesting search for self-awareness and an opening of channels between mind and body in order to direct spontaneously surging energies in transformative ways. The author skillfully engages readers in her progress along many levels of understanding and problem solving. She first seeks medical help to determine whether she is acutely psychotic or if there are other explanations for her seismic symptoms. She also does some digging on her own and learns some basic facts about good and evil effects others have experienced when dormant life forces coiled at the base of the spine become aroused during meditation or occult practices. But Andie isn’t a seeker after Eastern enlightenment like her mother. Why is this happening to her? Under the care of an older female analyst Andie insists on finding a quick fix for her disturbing perceptions and risky behavior and resists the doctor’s attempts to help her confront her arrested psychosexual development—a problem of Elektra-ish dimensions—linked to a distorted relationship with her glamorous parents, Zack and Daphne, during childhood and adolescence. In the midst of this internal storm and stress, she has foolishly taken on the rich and powerful senator. So she must also find a way to outwit the devil: satisfy the bare minimum of a portrait commission, take his money, and not soil her scruples on the way out of town. And out of town she again goes, this time to New Orleans in search of exotic release and enlightenment. Leaving her comfy perch in one of the city’s opulent hotels, Andie plunges into the steamy city for more steamy action with smarmy guys. In the heart of the romantic old quarter, she finally starts down a road to healing and discovery with help from some local spiritual adepts—New Orleans style! The story is well paced throughout and benefits from the author’s fine talents in setting all scenes with rich descriptive detail, narrative tension, and emotional flourishes in crisp dialogue. The Carolina locales and those in New Orleans are authentic and immediately appreciable. Because this is a psychological drama, the main-character focus is intense and fairly myopic—a purposeful close-up of the protagonist with fairly sketchy, two-dimensional supporting characters whose sole purpose is to move the action along. The evil senator is believable enough although this reader found his list of transgressions all too predictable, straight out of the liberal’s handbook of mortal sins. I enjoyed reading about the artistic techniques Andie uses to capture his protean facial features and corrupt personality. Ms. Payne either has a background in graphic arts or some very good consultants on the subject.Two friends who take charge of Andie when she is least in control of her faculties are the only other characters besides the senator to rise slightly above sketch-pad level. But nothing complex or special here either: perfectly adequate as friends in need, friends indeed. I was disappointed, however, with the portrayal of Andie’s parents, especially their lack of meaningful interaction with her as the story develops. Their role in her developmental pathology was presented early and alluded to several times thereafter but ultimately left hanging. The father, Zack, even spends a few days with Andie, but we learn little from their time together. Nothing is resolved; in fact, more tangential plot questions are raised during his visit and left unanswered. Ms. Payne is a skillful writer, and I am certain she intended them to be left unanswered. I puzzled over why she decided to introduce them at all. Perhaps she has a sequel in mind?However, these last few issues are mere quibbles, small beer. Andie’s adventure is big and wet and wild and entertaining on many levels. Those who are squeamish about torrid sexual fantasies and some graphic accounts of the real thing will be put off. Those expecting a Western treatise on tantric yoga or the One True Path to the Buddha Mind will be disappointed. Those who appreciate a masterly rendering of one woman’s tale of self-discovery will enjoy riding with Andie while she outwits the devil and rattles the rails on a roller-coaster ride with her inner serpent, kundalini.

Gene2019-05-02 06:40

COBALT BLUE may surprise you. Andie Branson, an attractive, proper, well known 38 year old painter, is constantly and mysteriously sexually aroused, so much so that she proceeds to initiate sexual encounters. She struggles to understand and tries to resists these impulses, yet in spite of her efforts continues to experience them. From the moment she poses nude for a fellow painters class - something she never would have considered doing before, you sense she is is on the verge of being in over her head. Yet the story is not one of prurient doings drivel about an a newly over-sexed woman, although the author does describes Andie's "moments" with enough specificity to give the reader sufficient participatory understanding of her feelings and emotions. On the contrary, this is an articulately rendered tale of a modern woman seized by some seemingly unrejectionable impulse to satisfy a carnality that she did not know was part of her.Her quest is to find the answer. At times the reader may ask: "What if this happened to me?" or "Is it?" In the closing chapters Andie's desperate search leads her to New Orleans where she Voodoo and other unusual circumstances come into play.COBALT BLUE is an intense tale written in the literary milieu of unabashed honesty. It probes inclinations of the human psyche and the bizarre influences which may affect it. An excellent and thought provoking read.

David Guy2019-05-20 08:25

Peggy is a friend of mine, and I read an earlier version of this book, though this one is much changed. It is about a woman who begins to experience a surprising energy that she eventually identifies as Kundalini, and for a while it takes her on a wild ride sexually, as she feels completely out of control. Probably the truth of the matter is that she is a temporarily blocked artist (she has a vision of a new painting but can't bring herself to work on it) or just a woman facing a hard moment at midlife, but she finds the whole thing terribly scary and difficult. She resolves her difficulties after a trip to New Orleans and a visit to a voodoo woman, but not without various mishaps. Throughout the book, the (mostly) North Carolina landscape is beautifully described; the sheer descriptive power is one of the real strengths of the book.Although it sounds a little hokey to visit a voodoo woman in New Orleans, I actually thought the New Orleans section of the book was the strongest; the last fifty pages or so of this novel are its heart. And the particular scene with that particular woman is beautifully done. This book is about creative energy, sexual energy, spiritual energy, whatever you want to call it. It is a daring and brave book, beautifully written.

Marjorie Hudson2019-04-25 03:40

Peggy Payne continues to astonish me with this exploration of the human spirit, art, and sexuality. When an artist with a stalled out love life and career is offered a huge sum to paint a portrait of a loathsome politician, she is in trouble from the start. When seizures of sexual feeling start overtaking her body, she becomes vulnerable to forces beyond her control. The Kundalini takes over, a snake of writhing forceful energy, sex, and creative connection to bioelectrical energy. Every artist should read this novel for its depiction of the blocks we all suffer and the joys that await true commitment to art: the seizures of creative flow that some would call God energy.

Orion2019-05-17 09:24

Peggy Payne's Cobalt Blue is about what happens to a down on her luck North Carolina artist when is struck one night with the grace of kundalini energy. While she struggles with the sexual and creative urges of her rising kundalini, she also has to negotiate her biggest commission ever, the official portrait of a right-wing US Senator from North Carolina whose political values are abhorrent to her. Filled with lots of local details, great North Carolina personalities, and a commanding knowledge of Kundalini Yoga, Cobalt Blue is a joyous and affirming book about our inner ability to grow and change.

Amanda Roa2019-05-01 07:46

Beautifully written. I feel like I have communed with the soul of the protagonist. This story is appealing to the creative spirit in us all -- what it means to be creative, how to express it, how not to fear it, how to channel it as an avenue of spiritual growth. I didn't approve of some of Andie's choices along the way to learning how to wake up in her life and be her best self, but then again, life is messy and we are all capable of dark and light. See? That's what this book does to you: it makes you wax and wane existentially about this life we are all blessed to be living.

Beth Browne2019-05-08 05:40

A fascinating take on a very difficult subject. An intense story with a wonderfully satisfying ending.

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About the author

Peggy Payne - I’m a writer who dodged being a minister; I saw that my dharma, my calling, was instead to write about body and spirit, to explore in fiction my metaphysical questions. I’ve spent the past 35+ years as a freelancer, with 2 novels, 2 nonfiction books, magazine and newspaper articles from 25+ countries, a few seasons as a TV reporter, copy for ad agencies, a winter in India, and my manuscript and career consulting services for writers.Married to a psychologist (Bob Dick drbobdick), live in a log house in deep woods, Most recent novel: Sister India (a NY Times Notable Book of the Year) Work in a cool artsy office building in Raleigh, NC. Plan B life in NYC. Interested in the psychic and supernatural. My novels: Sister India goodreads/book/show/64 Set in Varanasi/Benares, where I spent an intense and tumultuous and wonderful winter.Revelation (goodreads/book/show/42) A minister at a liberal university-town church starts hearing the voice of God. Seriously. Not a comedy.My nonfiction: The Healing Power of Doing Good (co-author)goodreads/book/show/69 and a women's clothing company history: Doncaster: A Legacy of Personal Style goodreads/book/show/12I also run a consulting service for writers, offering manuscript critiques and career counsel. peggypayne/manuscript-review/Am an ardent-but-slapdash woodland gardener, kayaker, reader, magazine junkie, and crossworder.

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